Bruins rally past Ducks

Thursday

Oct 31, 2013 at 10:51 PMOct 31, 2013 at 10:51 PM

By Matthew Carrol

The Associated Press

BOSTON — Zdeno Chara scored the tying goal on a power play with under 3 minutes remaining in regulation and Jarome Iginla had the lone goal in a shootout to rally the Boston Bruins past the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Thursday night.

Carl Soderberg scored his first NHL goal and Tuukka Rask made 21 saves for the Bruins, who mustered only one shot on goal in the first period. They never sustained much of an offensive attack but still managed to snap a two-game skid.

Devante Smith-Pelly scored less than 2 minutes into the game, Mathieu Perreault had a goal and an assist and Jonas Hiller stopped 21 shots for the Ducks. But they went 0 for 4 on the power play, dropping the league’s worst unit to 7.3 percent (4 for 55).

Bruins players came out for warmups wearing World Series caps, and the crowd cheered midway through the second period when highlights of the Boston Red Sox clinching win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night at Fenway Park were shown on the JumboTron.

Bruins team President Cam Neely and Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino then came onto the ice and held the World Series trophy high above their heads.

But despite all the excitement in the building, the Bruins got off to a slow start.

The Ducks were on the verge of their fourth straight victory until Patrick Maroon’s tripping penalty with 2:58 left in the third period gave Boston late life.

It didn’t take long for the Bruins to capitalize.

David Krejci scooped up a loose puck just outside the crease and slid a pass through the legs of defenseman Cam Fowler that Chara easily slipped past Hiller with 2:50 to go, setting off a wild celebration in the stands.

Iginla put Boston ahead in the shootout with his wrist shot over Hiller’s glove. After Rask turned aside two weak attempts by the Ducks, Ryan Getzlaf hit the crossbar to end the game.

A slap shot by Chara more than 18 minutes into the game was Boston’s lone shot of the first period. Anaheim had five shots, but needed only one to score.

The Ducks struck 1:52 into the game on Smith-Pelly’s first goal of the season.

After Anaheim won the puck in front of the Bruins’ bench and barely maintained the zone, Perreault dropped a short pass in the slot to Smith-Pelly, who lifted a wrister past Rask’s left shoulder.

The Bruins evened the score with 7:15 to play in the second when Soderberg broke in alone on Hiller and slipped the puck between his legs.

But Perreault’s fifth goal put the Ducks back on top with 20.9 seconds remaining in the period. After winning a faceoff in the Bruins zone, Perreault corralled a pass inside the circle just seconds later, spun to his right and slid a shot by Rask’s right leg.

NOTES: The Bruins recalled C Ryan Spooner from Providence of the AHL and he got his first NHL point when he assisted on Soderberg’s goal. He also missed the first shot of the shootout. The Ducks played without forward Teemu Selanne, who is expected to miss two weeks after losing four teeth and receiving 40 stitches in his mouth following a high stick in a victory over Philadelphia on Tuesday. The 43-year-old ranks second on the active career scoring list with 1,437 points and plans to retire following the season. Boston’s one shot in the first was its fewest in a period since getting just one in the third period of a win over New Jersey on Jan. 5, 2008.